2017 Oysterville Vespers will make the rafters ring

Published on June 13, 2017 3:58PM

Tucker Wachsmuth Photo

As the 40th season of Oysterville Music Vespers Services gets underway, churchgoers will be able to observe the week-to-week progress of the new cedar shingle roof overhead. Funded largely through a $15,000 grant from the Oregon-based Kinsman Foundation, the work will proceed on weekdays only, Cyndy Hayward said. Hayward is president of the Oysterville Restoration Foundation, the organization that owns and manages the historic building. “Think good weather,” she suggested.

OYSTERVILLE — On Father’s Day, June 18, Music Vesper services will begin at the Historic Oysterville Church at their traditional summer Sunday hour, 3 p.m.

In keeping with the ecumenical nature of the series, ministers representing a variety of churches both on and off the Peninsula will preside over each of the hour-long services. Featured each week will be the music of instrumentalists or vocalists, mostly local, and many of whom return year after year to perform in the 1892 building known for its splendid acoustics.

In addition, each week there will be a short bit of information or reminiscence presented by one of the local residents. These glimpses of history or of local lore have come to be known as “Oysterville Moments.” To provide additional ambiance to the 125-year-old building, several local organists have each volunteered a Sunday or two to play the old-fashioned pump organ as accompaniment to the congregational hymn-singing.

The music of “Barbara Poulshock and Friends” will begin the season this Sunday with Dr. Barbara Bate, interdenominational pastor from Ocean Park, serving as officiant. Presentation of the Oysterville Moment will be by Larry Freshley, a graduate of the Oysterville School (1949) — as well as of Ocean Park School (1951) and Ilwaco High School (1955).

A complete Music Vespers schedule can be found each week in the Community Calendar section of the Observer. “We hope people will cut it out and post it on their refrigerators or other reminder spots,” says Wachsmuth. “Each Sunday is different and the public is encouraged to come to every one of the 12!”